Content area
Full Text
St. Louis real estate developer Pete Rothschild is trying to lure Swedish furniture retail giant IKEA to St. Louis Centre.
Rothschild, known primarily for redeveloping historic buildings into apartments, said he's submitted a proposal to IKEA but has not received a response from the company.
At roughly 300,000 square feet, St. Louis Centre could be a perfect fit for IKEA, which requires a minimum of 250,000 square feet, Rothschild said.
"It's certainly a good piece of property for this use," Rothschild said. "It's a wonderful building and a wonderful spot. The (existing) stores could be used for rooms, there are escalators in place to get people up and down, there are hue freight elevators and it's connected to a 450car parking garage."
Joseph Roth, IKEA's director of property public affairs for North America, said the company is evaluating a number of Midwestern markets for potential expansion.
"IKEA recognizes the potential customer base that might exist for us in the St. Louis area," Roth said. "However, we have not committed to a time frame for entering the market. Right now, our expansion is focused...